What IS Clinical Somatics?

Clinical Somatics (aka Hanna Somatics) is a simple process of neuromuscular re-education that allows you to regain voluntary control of all the muscles of your body so that optimal muscle function and comfort can be restored, and then maintained, for the long term. When we have full control of our muscles, they cannot cause pain. Only muscles that we have lost voluntary control over (SMA) can cause pain.

It is an education based approach to pain relief, wellness, health and mobility that honors the neurological fact that our brains have absolute control over our muscles. Any attempt to change the condition of, or optimize the functioning of, our muscles must involve the brain. If the brain is involved it means there is a learning component and true change only comes through learning. By learning new and more efficient ways to use our muscles we can make long term changes to our body, or should I say to our ‘Soma’ (our body experienced from within).

There are two ways to achieve this;

Clinical Somatic Lessons
Clinical Somatic Education systematically addresses the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma) over the course of 3-6 Lessons. The practitioner guides the client through some specific movement patterns and provides gentle hands on feedback to the client to help them to properly sense the various muscles involved. Once the client can sense or feel these muscles they can begin to regain control of them and in turn release and relax them back to their proper resting length. Clients are then taught the Somatic Self Care Exercises that they can do themselves at home so they can maintain this muscular control and freedom.

Somatic Self Care Exercises
These are a series of safe, simple floor based movement patterns that enable us to consciously recreate the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma) so that we may consciously de-create them. The goal of the Exercises is to pandiculate into and out of the Reflexes eliminating SMA. This is akin to hitting ‘reset’ on our muscle function. When you’re PC or laptop is acting up, the first thing we do is usually to turn it off, and then turn it on again. This allows the sytem to reset or reboot. With Somatic Exercises we are doing the same thing for our brain muscle connection. The only difference being we do the opposite, we turn the muscle fully ON, and then slowly turn it fully OFF. This simple act resets or reboots our muscle function and control for freer, more comfortable muscles.

The Backlift is one of many Somatic Self Care Exercises

Summary:

Clinical Somatics (Hanna Somatics) is Education NOT therapy.

Clinical Somatic Lessons teach you how to recognise and release all the muscles involved in the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma).

Somatic Self Care Exercises performed regularly allow you to be self correcting in the future for long term pain relief from tight stiff muscles.

Somatics resets or reboots our muscle function and control for freer, more comfortable muscles and improved movment potential.